Wind deflectors have long been used in conjunction with sliding roof systems of motor vehicles. When a sliding roof is open, the wind deflector carries out the function of suppressing possible acoustic annoying noises which are caused in particular by periodic changes in air pressure and are perceptible in the vehicle interior in particular in the form of booming, or of preventing the arising of said annoying noises.
Conventional wind deflectors are customarily arranged in the region of that edge of a sliding roof opening on the motor vehicle roof which lies at the front in the direction of travel. When the sliding roof is open, a wind deflector deployment element mounted movably in relation to the body passes into a use position which is raised or spread out in relation to a basic position. A deflection element, typically in the form of a flexible fabric, in particular in the form of a net, and connected to the deployment element, which may be referred to as a deployment mechanism, is spread out by this means. As a motor vehicle is moving, the air-permeable fabric results in specific local air swirling, and therefore possible acoustic annoying noises are suppressed or the production thereof is substantially completely prevented.
In respect of construction and production, there are very varied wind deflector concepts. For example, DE 10 2009 041 291 A1 describes a wind deflector with a deflection element which can be spread out and the upper edge region of which is fastened via an edge strip to a pivotable deployment clip which comprises a clip body made of plastic. The edge strip of the deflection element is fixed here to the clip body by a welding process.
By contrast, a different wind deflector concept is described in WO 2012/052247 A1. Provision is made there to fasten the spread-out and flexible deflection element via an upper edge strip to a pivotable deployment clip. The upper edge strip and a lower edge strip are components here of an encircling plastics edge insert molding of the deflection element. The edge insert molding provided here furthermore comprises latching elements, by means of which a form-fitting, approximately latching connection of the deflection element to the deflector clip can be realized.
Furthermore, a wind deflector in the motor vehicle sector is known from DE 10 2005 054 186 B4. In order to connect a deflection element to a deployment mechanism, a connection device is described there with a two-part base region which is formed from two individual parts. A first individual part has a plurality of insertion pins and a second individual part has insertion openings formed in a complementary manner with respect thereto. The deflection element is clamped here between the two individual parts, wherein the insertion pins ensure the corresponding clamping effect. The insertion pins can also be designed as an insertion strip running continuously in the longitudinal direction.
However, the clamping of a deflection element typically configured as a flexible net between insertion pin and insertion openings inevitably leads to creasing in the region of the insertion pins. By contrast, an insertion strip running continuously in the longitudinal direction would prove disadvantageous in terms of assembly since the strip would probably have to be connected over its entire longitudinal direction to an insertion profile configured in a complementary manner with respect thereto. It could prove extremely difficult to clamp the flexible deflection element between the two individual parts without creases.
If in particular only individual insertion openings, which are spaced apart from one another approximately in the longitudinal direction of the individual parts, and insertion pins complementary with respect to said insertion openings are provided, then it may happen in practice that the deflection element is effectively held and fixed only in the region of the insertion pins and insertion openings which are in engagement with one another, but experiences only a comparatively small clamping action in regions between adjacent insertion pins and insertion openings, which may under some circumstances lead to undesirable creasing or rippling of the deflection element, in particular over the long term operation of the wind deflector.
In practice, flexible deflection elements are therefore typically insert molded on the edges.
The increasing diversification in motor vehicle manufacturing makes the configuration of differently dimensioned wind deflectors necessary, in particular even for small series. A manufacturing process based predominantly on injection molding for wind deflectors, for example just for the insert molding of the edges of the deflection element or net, has proven disadvantageous in terms of production, in particular with regard to the comparatively high acquisition and investment costs of injection molds.
To minimize costs, it is furthermore desirable to manufacture individual components of wind deflectors at different locations and to transport the finished or preassembled wind deflector to the production location of the motor vehicle concerned with as low transport costs as possible and with as low transport volume as possible.